AT on... Green Heroes

Despite the fact that I have nicknames like "Green Police," "Energy Czar" and "Organi-girl," and have earned quite the green living reputation around my office, there are people —many people— who are greener than me. Much greener than me. I've blogged twice this week about one of those people...

My mother happens to live one of the most eco-friendly lives around.

Many weekends, I make a trip out to her house to pick up pounds upon pounds of fresh garden produce, like these squash; I'd say she's one of the best small-scale organic gardeners around.

Not to mention that most (all but the new Oriental rug in the living room, really) of her beautiful country home decor is made up of things that have been repurposed or thrifted. Each antique or rustic thrift-store find has new life breathed into it as soon as it enters her home. A sense of frugality lends itself to that vintage chic decor, and the overall effect looks like it popped right out of the pages of House Beautiful.

And to top it all off, she collects bath water for her container plants. Up until recently, she'd stopped using her old dishwasher and done the hand-washing/collection for her dishes; then she found out she'd save nearly 2,000 gallons of water by investing in an Energy Star dishwasher. So voila. Factor in all the energy-saving tactics she and her husband use, and you'd find one of the lowest energy bills in town.

Sure, we can't all grow enough veggies to feed our families, or install new appliances, but we certainly can be inspired by a green hero of our own and strive to make even more small changes in our own lives.